Wolven Moons
by Tzigane-Akiko
Summary: Syaoran Li: 16, male, somewhat moody. Father dead. Sisters murdered. Mom angry as all hell at him. Only a few friends to speak of. Your average teenaged guy, right? Wrong. Just as his world is pulling together, Syaoran has to suddenly . . . lead a gang?
1. And So It Begins

**A/N:** _Heya everyone, this is Xiannodel. Um, this is my first fanfic EVER, so I figured I should clear some things up. First of all, the story is told from Syaoran's point of view. This might change, but then again it might not. However, I've got the whole story written up, and it's just a matter of typing and submitting. Hopefully, it won't take too long . . . anyway, I bet you just want me to shut up now, so enjoy._

**DISCLAIMER:**

_Syaoran: Okay. Xia doesn't own us. We do. So do us a favor and don't sue._

_Sakura: Hoe! Syaoran-kun, be nice!_

_Tomoyo: Yeah! Be nice, Syaoran-kun!_

_Syaoran: Bah!_

_Eriol: (sighs) Uh . . . here's the story . . . just read it already . . ._

**_Syaoran's POV_**

"Guards! Theives at stall 47!" The merchant screeches, pointing at Eriol and I. As if on cue, a patrol of guards clanked loudly into sight

Eriol hovered next to me, thinking. I blinked at the guards as I waited. Soon, Eriol gave a small smile, saluted and . . . ran. I smirked at the guards before following.

"Hey Eriol?"

"Yeah?"

"Why aren't we fighting?"

"Syaoran, I know you're not _that_ slow. It's market day, after all. True, we could have taken them, but then more would have come." Eriol explained as we darted into a dark alley crammed with junk.

"I think—"

"I think we'll keep quiet for now, and maybe not get caught this time." Eriol pushed me into a gap in the junk. Then, he slid into his own crawlspace. We listened: sure enough, the guards clanked right past without even glancing into the alley. The metallic clanging faded away into the distance.

Eriol wriggled out and dusted off his clothes. He was tall at 5 foot 6 inches, and was fairly slim. His hair was such a dark black it was almost blue, and his eyes were deep blue as well. Glasses were constantly perched on the end of his nose, giving him the appearance of someone with brains. His mind was a scary place, hidden behind a charming mask. I never had enough courage to pull it off . . . anyway, he was a still a great leader. He wore lots of blues, blacks and golds, which meant he stood out in the crowd.

I was, basically, his opposite. While Eriol had black hair, mine was a chestnut brown. His eyes were dark blue; mine were amber. My hair was long enough to poke at my eyes, and Eriol always teased me by saying that the girls couldn't resist that. Ugh. Anyway, I was a little bit slimmer than him, but only because I was constantly working out. Consequently, I also had more muscles. Instead of Eriol's dark colors, I wore the greens and yellows, maybe even blues and browns. I blended with the rest of Tomeda's citizens. Where Eriol was the brainy leader, I was the almost brawny right-hand man, since I was often rash and reckless.

We were both _really_ good swordsmen, though. Eriol had a slim and evil-looking katana at his hip. My normal, everyday sword was slung across my back.

"Master!" Takashi, one of our members, ran up. "I saw you running from the guards! Are you all right?!"

"Yes Takashi, I'm fine. My cute little descendant obeyed me wonderfully."

I contained my growl, but sent Eriol one of my famous death-glares. "And you never let me live it down, oh master of mine."

"And there's the little glare I've come to love." Eriol laughed as he teased me. We always did that to each other.

"You shouldn't glare at the master, Syaoran." Takashi gave me his strongest glare. He'd always hated me . . . I just shrugged away said glare.

"Takashi. Why did you come searching for us?" Eriol raised an eyebrow.

"Daidouji wants you both back. She was muttering something about a raid, I think. Can I be in the raid this time?"

"Sure, sure. Syaoran, can you get some food?"

Just for the sake of fun, I gave a sweeping bow. "Of course, oh magnificent master!"

"Great! Meetcha at the hangout!" Takashi tried to lead Eriol away, obviously glad to leave my presence.

That evil look appeared in Eriol's eye, and I groaned. This was gonna be good . . .

"Uh-uh. You'll wanna watch this. Maybe _then_ you'll show Syaoran some respect!" Eriol told Takashii in his best stern tone. To my relief, that evil look wasn't directed at me. "Syaoran, you got ten minutes."

"Ooh, so much time!" I couldn't resist a good tease. "You are starting to doubt in me, aren't you . . . ?"

"No way, it's too dangerous for my health to doubt you. Start . . . now." I lsipped into the crowd in a matter of seconds. Oh, the look on Takashi's face when I returned with five baguette and a large bag of fruit!

"Stop that expression, you look like a fish." I started to turn away. "And hurry up, or Tomoyo will release her wrath on us again."


	2. Fear My Wrath!

**_Syaoran's POV_**

"No way,Takashi! This is one of your tall tales, isn't it?!"

Takashi shook his head furiously, black hair flopping all over. "I'm not lyin'! Syaoran really _did_ get all that food in five minutes!"

Futomaki frowned, shaking his head. If Eriol was the leader, and I was the right-hand man, that made Futomaki the . . . left-hand man? Yeah. I shrugged to myself and continued eating while listening intently.

"No one's that fast, Takashi!"

"No, no, it's really true!" Takashi insisted.

Futomaki growled, and grabbed Takashi's wrist. "This is what happens to those who tell bigger lies than mine!" He pulled back, ready to slug him.

I'd heard enough. In a flash, I was behind Futomaki. "And this . . . is what happens to those who lay an ill finger on friends of mine." My fist restrained his, and my sword-point was steady at his neck.

Silence in our mess hall . . . total, stunned silence . . .

"Good, we seem to understand each other. Could you maybe release Takashi?"

"He was spreading lies again!" Futomaki growled. I'd bet money that he was wondering how a sixteen-year old could beat him at twenty-three.

My eyes narrowed slightly, and my short temper was rising. Right about now, my eyes were probably hard. "Understand that this gang has no room for bullies. What you're doing with Takashi right now . . . wouldn't that be labeled as bullying? Release him, now, and let down your fist."

"You're just the right-hand man!" Futomaki sneered. "You've got no authority over me!"

"Get this into you think, tiny skull: you're the shittin' left-hand man. You've got just as much _authority_ as I do! Let go of Takashi already." Members were obviously interested by now. Not only was Futomaki acting out of character, but they probably thought I was blowing this out of proportion. They'd seen my fury before, but never had they seen me so angry I was calm.

"No way! Being thieves is bad enough, but to lie?! That's even worse! A liar can't live off lies! He's _worse_ than a thief!"

My eyes narrowed to slits, and I tensed ever so slightly. The tip of my sword nicked Futomaki's neck, and a solitary drop of blood fell to the floor.

"Let. Takashi. Go. **NOW.**" I said, my voice icy cold. "I will not repeat myself again . . ."

Either Futomaki didn't catch my hint of a few threats, or he just didn't care. Maybe he just didn't even notice. He'd set his jaw . . . "No."

"I said let him go, gawd dammit!" I snapped. "I already said I wouldn't repeat myself, you shithead! Let him go before I lose my temper!"

Apparently, someone had gone to fetch Eriol. He took one look, and sighed. This wasn't the first time I'd made such a scene. Possibly he was remembering when _he'd_ pushed me over my limit.

"Futomaki, do what Syaoran says. He may be fast to anger, but he tries to keep his temper in check, and it's bloody hard to push his limits. I've pushed him over the edge, and I have a helluva scar from it!"

We were interrupted by a soft thud. I'd forgotten about Futomaki's other arm. Takashi fell to the ground, nursing his already-bruising cheek.

Futomaki grinned and let go. "That oughta teach the bastard . . ."

My temper broke free, and I was red. "Damn you to hell, you bastard of a bitch." The light flickered off the blade of my sword.

"Dammit Syaoran, no!" Eriol wrenched me backwards, but he was a second too late. My strike had connected and blood spurted from Futomaki's back.

"Damn you, damn you, DAMN YOU!" I shouted, struggling against Eriol.

"Syaoran! Syaoran, calm down! Takashi's okay, just calm down already! You blooky fool, calm down!" Eriol's British accent showed through the strain.

It took a while, and the reassurances of Tomoyo, Eriol _and _Takashi finally calmed me down. "Takashi. You all right."

"Yeah, but my jaw hurts like hell . . ." Takashi tried to speak, but it was pretty jumbled.

"Well, come on then. We're going to the hospital." I nodded to Takashi, then called over my shoulder "Oi! I need two men to help with that idiot over there." I jerked my head towards Futomaki.

Two men nodded, and bundled Futomaki onto a stretcher.

"Tomoyo, don't you dare touch the blood. I'll deal with it when we get back." I called over my shoulder as I fetched my money. Then, I led the group of four to the hospital.


	3. Of Cherry Blossoms and Swords

**A/N:**_ Sorry, this chapter is kinda . . . long__. I bet you were probably wondering where Sakura was . . . well, here she is! Also, a review asked if there was going to be any romance. As for that, I guess you'll just have to wait and see! Anyway, I should shut up again, so here's your next chapter! _

**_Sakura's POV (finally)_**

I yawned and stretched, rubbing an eye sleepily. After a second and third yawn, I blearily blinked out the window. Hmm. Judging by the moon, it's about . . . ah, who cares? It's waaay early in the morning. No one'll be up anyway.

I stood, wrapping my blanket around my shoulders. Thirsty . . . thiiiiiiiiiiiirstyyyyyyyyy . . . _thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrssttyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy_ . . .

Stumbling into the kitchen, it wasn't that hard to find a glass and fill it with water. I downed it, then poured another. I drank this one more calmly . . . or, that is, until I heard a faint grunt and the sound of someone picking up something fairly _heavy_. Frowning, I tracked the noise as I set the glass down silently. I reached for the first weapon nearby. I hefted it and burst through the door.

Immediately, I rammed into a dark figure. I made a startled noise out of reflex, and swung my weapon over my head. Upon contact there was the sound of splashing water, a stream of quiet curses and a thump as the figure fell heavily to the ground.

Still raising my 'weapon', I turned on the lamps. Then, I gaped at the intruder.

"_S-S-Syaoran?!_ Oh my god, I am soo sorry! I thought you were a burgular . . ." I trailed off, staring.

He was sitting on the floor, an overturned bucket lying nearby. The contents, presumably water, soaked him from head to toe. A sponge sat on his lap. As he rubbed his sore head, he glared up at me. Surprisingly, the dim lamplight made his hair look like molten gold and his eyes . . .

"At least we know you and that killer broom are protecting us." He told me somewhat angrily, picking up the bucket. Apparently, he was trying to ignore me as he tossed the sponge in.

"S-sorry . . ." I flushed (why?) and dropped my 'weapon', which was the killer broom he was talking about.

"Eh, it's okay. You really got me good, though." Syaoran stood, gently rubbing where I'd whacked him again. "At least I don't have to clean up the water again . . . I think it all landed on me . . ."

"What were you doing anyway?" Curiosity did kill the cat, after all, and I was dead already. Why not kill yourself again? Not like it could hurt you . . .

"Didn't you see me slice up Futomaki's back? I was cleaning up the blood." He gave a self-conscious grin.

I stuck my hands on my hips, indignant. "You _enjoy_ being mysterious, don'tcha?" I raised an eyebrow for emphasis, meaning I wanted my question answered, and answered now.

"That's enough questions out of you, it's my turn. Who are you, anyway?" Syaoran retorted, eyes blazing. Dammit, those eyes . . . bad thoughts! Bad thoughts!

"Sakura, as in the cherry blossoms."

"Hn. Well, Ying Fa, why are you up at this hour?"

"Got thirsty." I followed him as he went into the kitchen. "What's Ying Fa?"

"Your name in Chinese."

"And you know this . . . how?"

"_I'm_ Chinese. Didn't you know? It's not that hard to tell. I've even got a bit of an accent from it." He shrugged. "Get your drink and go back to bed."

"All right." For some reason, arguing didn't seem to be a good idea. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"I doubt Tomoyo would enjoy a dirty bucket. Also, I can't shower until morning, so I'm at least rinsing my hair." Syaoran answered calmly, merely continuing to rinse the bucket and his hair in one of the large kitchen sinks.

"Uh . . . Syaoran . . . ?"

"Hmn?" He turned off the water, blinking at me.

"Um, I'm kinda new, and kinda . . . well . . ."

He almost smirked. ""You're lost, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?!" I snapped.

A shrug. "Then I'll see you later, as you don't seem to need my help for anything."

"Wait!" I called. He actually turned back, expression expectant. "Um, I . . . do kinda need your help . . ."

He smirked. Ooh, I could learn to hate his ego . . . "What room?"

" . . . 35." I almost growled.

Syaoran nodded. "C'mon then." He led me down the maze of halls, strangely silent. Finally, he stopped at my bedroom door (like all the other bedrooms in our hangout, it was numbered, and my number was a 35). "There."

"Thanks!" I smiled, my emerald eyes big. I could have sworn he stared at them for a moment before grinning and turning to leave.

"Oh, by the way, I'll be back in the morning for you." He paused.

"Huh? Why?"

"Exactly as I said. I'll be back in the morning for you." He turned slightly to blink at me.

"OH MY GOD, you're asking me on a DATE?!" I pulled back in horror.

"Huh, you wish. I'm taking you to my swordsmaster, stupid. If there is a raid, we could use your . . . unique broom-wielding skills."

I calmed automatically, beaming. "Sure, okay!"

He gave a small smile and left. As I climbed back into bed, I pondered over him for a minute. He didn't smile much. Seemed like he was in a shell, huh . . .

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somehow, I still managed to fall back asleep.

And I woke back up to a loud knock at my door.

"Yea? Whutizzit?" I called sleepily. "C'mon in . . . zzzzzzz . . ."

"Well, you do know how to rest up, but that doesn't necessarily help the swordsmaster." Syaoran entered, face expressionless and voice dry.

"HOEEEE!!! I'm in just my nightgown, you pervert!"

Surprisingly (not), he wasn't even fazed by this. "You didn't seem to mind last night." He tossed my blanket on top of me. Apparently, I'd forgotten it in the events of last night.

"Close your eyes!" I ordered, still flushing hotly. Syaoran crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, but still obeyed. I darted into the bathroom, clothes clutched to my chest. It didn't' take long for me to shower and dress. "Okay, ready!"

"Good, because we're already late." Syaoran opened his eyes and dragged me out of the hangout.

"Who's this swords-guy anyway?"

"His name's Clow Reed, and he was my teacher. You'll address him with respect, as he could have you skewered in less that a minute." Syaoran told me sharply as he dragged me at a swift pace. Within half an hour, we were at the dojo.

"Ah, young master Li!" a middle-aged man, bearing a strange resemblance to Eriol, jumped up to greet us. "Back so soon? You disappoint me, boy!"

"I'm not beater, Master Clow." Syaoran grinned darkly. "Though, Sakura here did give me a large enough lump with a broom."

Master Clow beamed at me. "Hello! I'm Clow Reed!"

"Wow, you're the swords-guy Syaoran made such a big deal about!" I exclaimed, excited. Syaoran groaned.

"Hmm, she looks like a rapier or normal sword." Master Clow blinked seriously at me. "How did she assault you with that broom?"

Syaoran's reply was instantaneous.

"Over the head."

" . . . um, I meant, how did she _hold_ it?" Master Clow sighed.

"Well, it was dark and I really couldn't tell, but as far as I know she just swung it over her head."

"Uh-huhmn . . . normal sword then, a little shorter than yours . . . maybe a little thinner as well . . . in any case . . . Sakura! Come with me. Syaoran, you go search out Kohei, if you want. He should be here . . ."

"Nah, I just beat up the dummy again." Syaoran ambled off in some random direction.

"Hey! Don't forget to block the blade this time!" Master Clow shouted after him. "We'd better hurry and make you your sword. I don't want him to ruin the dummy like last time."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Heya Syaoran!" I called, struggling up to sit on the stone wall around the training ring.

He ignored me. Idiot . . . I'll just call louder.

"HEY SYAORAN!!!" I bellowed at the top of my lungs. I could have sworn his eye twitched (maybe in annoyance) before he continued to ignore me. "Hey!"

"Shh. He's focusing. That blade had better be blocked this time." Master Clow watched his former student as I looked around with (very very very very VERY) mild intrest.

"Hey, what's that heap o' junk?" I gestured to a pile of metal and cloth. Mostly it was metal. Very . . . chopped up and . . . beaten-looking metal . . .

"Oh, that. The remains of his last practice, where I forgot to order him to block his sword."

My gaze traveled to the tense Syaoran. I won't be getting on his _bad_ side for a while . . . scary . . .

"Oh, good, he blocked the blade after all." Master Clow nodded in assurance. "This should be good."

A number of dummies appeared from nowhere (probably those very obvious holes int he ground . . .). Automatically, Syaoran started attacking.

He skipped over the first dummy, leapfrogging it. The second dummy didn't last long before he whacked it over the head. Then, he skipped the third and fourth, but defeated the fifth, sixth and the seventh with ease. The eighth was skipped, and the ninth took a little longer. The tenth took the longest, because it was the only one built to fight back. He dodged most of the attacked, looking quite focused (well, DUH!).

He jumped over this last dummy's blade, the slashed out horizontally after he landed in a cat-like crouch on the ground. Even though his sword was blocked, the dummy was sliced cleanly in half.

Master Clow sighed depressedly, and I knew I was gaping like a fish.

"Did you have to bust it _this_ time, too?" Master Clow scolded Syaoran as he walked over to us. "Thanks to you, we're running out of that particular type of dummy!"

"Sorry." His grin was almost companiable, as if Master Clow and he were friends. "At least I blocked it like you said."

"Aaaaand you still busted it! How the hell do you do that, anyway?!" was Master Clow's response.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" Syaoran's grin widened. "Eriol wouldn't say sorry twice."

"Eriol doesn't beat up the dummies as bad as you! Stop being so stubborn already! Go, get lost already." Master Clow's last statement was almost teasing.

Syaoran's grin remained glued to his face "If I were so stubborn, I'd not leave without a fight!" he called back over his shoulder just as teasingly as he led me back towards the hangout.

"Master Clow's your best friend, isn't he?" I beamed at Syaoran.

"Nah. he's more like a dad. Eriol's my best friend, even if he's constantly teasing me and calling me his 'cute little descendant'." Syaoran shrugged. "Can I see the sword he gave you?"

I handed it to him without a single comment. He nodded, looking it over, then handed it back to me.

"It will be a tad heavier on the left side, just so you know. I'll talk with Eriol about lessons as well."

"Really? Yay!" I grinned. but then it faltered. Only to shoot back up again, of course. "But I'm comin'!"


	4. Carnival FunTime, Yeah!

**A/N:**_ Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. It's really encouraging to have people tell you to keep writing! Anyway, thanks and on with the story!_

**_Syaoran's POV (yes, back to him already)_**

"No. No way. Absolutely not."

"Aw, c'mon Syaoran . . ."

"No. No, no, no. No."

Eriol opened his mouth to protest, but I cut it with a swift "No!"

The leader grinned. "But Syaooooooraaaaaan, I can't teach her! I'm too busy preparing for the raid!"

"No. I pointed a finger at Eriol's nose. "No. Freakin'. Way."

Sakura grinned. "Why not?"

"You're enough of a trouble as is. Absolutely not!" I made an X with my hands in front of my chest. "No way in hell. Besides, I'm not nearly as good as Eriol!"

"Bah! Lies!" Eriol scoffed. "As leader, I command you to teach her!"

I glared with all my strength.

"You're an evil, evil man . . ."

"Oh, the shame!" Eriol slapped a hand to his forehead dramatically. "For that, my cute little descendant, you will train everyone."

"You horrible reincarnation . . . I'll get my revenge, you hear me? Someday you'll be in the same predicament, and I'll just laugh and laugh." I 'pouted' and led Sakura out.

She looked at me worriedly. "You won't . . . _really_ get revenge on Eriol . . . will you?"

"Naah."

She blinked, looking surprised. Augh, not those emerald eyes _again_ . . . "Really? But you said—"

"Eh, Eriol and I tease each other all the time." I shrugged, then stretched with my hands intertwined behind my head. "It's a habit, I guess. He knows I don't really mean it."

"So, that's why he kept calling you his 'cute little descendent'!"

I turned my full-on mightiest glare on her. "I . . . hate . . . that . . . name . . . "

She drew back, blinking. I think I scared her . . .

"Hey hey, c'mon! I'm tired of all those glares! I will not rest until you actually smile, and I know the perfect place for it!" She grabbed my wrist and ran off in the opposite direction.

"Huh? Hey, are you sure you aren't gonna get lost?"

Sakura stopped, but only to punch my arm playfully. "No way, silly!" Then, my wrist was captured again, and off we went.

"Ying Fa. What is this." I glared at the large contraption looming over me.

"We're at a carnival, dummy."

I blinked expectantly. She sighed, then grabbed my wrist again.

"Oh, just c'mon already!"

I noticed that she was dragging me towards a large circular machine that looked oddly like a . . . "No way! No no no no no no no!" I struggled to go in the opposite direction. "No ferris wheels! Noo!"

"Aw, c'mon you big baby. It's just the ferris wheel." She pushed me into the box and climbed in. "They're fun!"

"Not for me! Let me out, Ying Fa!"

"What are you, scared?"

"No way! Just very . . . terrified." Oooh man oh man! Why the hell did I admit it?!

Sakura blinked. "You're . . . scared of heights?"

Ah well. Might as well stop denying it. I nodded a fervent yes. "M-my sisters took me on one a few years ago, and I fell off!"

She stared a little longer, then cracked up. She was . . . laughing? Aw, hell . . .

"It's not funny!"

"Oh my god, you're actually serious?! Ha ha, this is priceless!"

"Glad _someone_ thinks so." I clung to the side of the box, glaring at her.

"Wow, what a wonderful view!" she managed once we'd reached the top, then cracked up all over again.

"You are enjoying this. I cannot believe that you're enjoying this!"

When the ride was over, I bolted. Apparently, Sakura had followed more calmly, and found me inspecting a sort of contest. There were three targets painted like bulls-eyes set up in a large corner-field. One was close, the other a little farther away, and the other a sad attempt at being unreachable.

"If you're so smart, what's this?"

"Archery contest." She looked longingly at a large panda. "If you hit all three targets and get all three as bulls-eyes, you get a big prize." Hmm . . .

She turned to look for me, but I was gone. It was almost worth the loss of a couple dollars to see her face when she found me paying the activity overseer.

"What are you doing?"

"Winning you that panda." I nocked an arrow, aimed and shot at the closest target. Bulls-eye, easy.

"Really?"

I paused to roll my eyes. "Duh. Why else would anyone play this game?" I aimed and shot again at the second target. Another bulls-eye, just as easy.

"Whoa, I didn't know you were capable of being nice!"

"Very funny, Ying Fa." I grinned, loosing my last shot. A third and final bulls-eye, yeah! "Panda, if you please."

The guy looked shocked when he handed me Sakura's panda. I beamed as I handed it to her.

"There. Good?"

"Great!" She beamed. Stop with those emerald eyes already! I can't resist green with a pretty face! Oooooh no, I did _not_ just say that Ying Fa was pretty! Did I?

"W-what now?" I looked away, cheeks hot.

"Ooh! There'll be fireworks later!"

"That doesn't help right _now_ . . ."

"Hey, a clown! Um, you wanna try another game?"

"Sure." I bought cotton candy off the clown, handing Sakura one. "Can't go to a carnival and not get cotton candy, right?" I grinned.

"Uhm, let's test our strength . . ." Sakura looked away and gestured to a large meter. I blinked at it, pondering.

"How does it work?"

"You swing that mallet as hard as you can, and it measures your strength."

"Hmm." I blinked again, this time in interest. Sakura noticed that she'd grabbed my hand again, and snuck it back. "Do we get prizes here, too?"

"Sometimes. Huh, after this we'll go see the fireworks!"

"All right." I handed the guy enough money for two, and gave Sakura the mallet.

She hefted it, eyes looking a little too determined. It thunked down, and impact bounced her off her feet temporarily. The little pointer didn't reach the bell, but she still got a prize. "Yay! Your turn!"

I literally slammed the mallet onto the pad. While it didn't reach the bell, it came fairly close. A large stuffed pumpkin plushie was thrust into my hands, which I traded Sakura for the miniature puppy plushie she'd won.

"Hurry up!" She dragged at my sleeve. "The fireworks'll start soon!" She led me to a small hill, with a beautiful clear sky overhead and a pond nearby. So pretty . . .

""Mmm. So beautiful . . ." I breathed quietly, afraid any loud noises would spoil the image.

"You ever seen fireworks?"

"Nope." I sent her one of my more genuine smiles. It wasn't one of my actual genuine smiles, but it was close. "They pretty?"

"Absolutely always."

"Mmm." I leaned back on the grass, thinking. "When do they start?"

"Any minute now." Sakura replied, just before the first firework went off. Red, green and gold burst in sprays of color and noise across the sky.

To be blunt, I was completely awed.

"Whoa . . ." I breathed as a blue firework exploded almost directly overhead.

After the blue firework was silence. Sakura started to stand, assuming it was over. To tell the truth, I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a finale or something.

Sudddenly, five fireworks went off at once. The finale had started after all! I was satisfied, but Sakura was more surprised than anything.

"Hoeeeeeee!" She shrieked and jumped to the side. Which is where I happened to be. "Ah! Hoe! Sorry!"

"Ano . . . it's okay . . ." I was happy for the darkness to hide my blush. "But, um, could you . . . get off?"

The finale continued to boom overhead, and I looked skyward.

"Oh, wow! Ying Fa, it's amazing!" My eyes were permanently glued to the sky. The finale was thunderous, but still amazingly beautiful.

It ended in a flash of color, and I turned to face Sakura again.

"Thanks for forcing me here, Ying Fa!" I smiled, one of my actually genuine smiles.

"Yay! A grin, not a smile! Ah, I mean a smile, not a grin!"

"Guess you did." I laughed. "C'mon, we'd better head back."

"Aw, do we gotta?" Sakura pouted. Don't look at her lips, don't look at her lips, don't look at her lips . . .

"Well, it's not like I can go anywhere until you get off." I raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry! Hoeeee, sorry!" Sakura gasped. "Eeeeeh, sorry!!!"

I laughed again. "Enough, enough. Get off already, I'm not gonna carry you all the way home."

Sakura pouted again, stuck out her tongue and got off. I stood, brushed off some grass and dirt, then started down the hill. She followed, yawning loudly.

Hmm . . . at least I didn't fall off the ferris wheel this time.


	5. Say WHAT!

**_Eriol's POV:_**

"Hey Syaoran! Where you been?"

"Ying Fa dragged me off to a carnival." Syaoran beamed. "The best part was the fireworks!"

"Tut tut, always the ladies' man!" I scolded, wagging a finger at him with a smirk on my face.

"Oh, come on. You know I hate when girls trail after me." he scoffed. "She dragged me off, I already said that!"

"Uh-huh." I really wasn't convinced. "Aaaand then she asked you to carry her home."

"The woman fell on me! She fell asleep and landed on me!" Syaoran growled. Sakura was on his back, and she really had fallen asleep. I grinned for a second longer, Meilin would love this and now I had awesome blackmail material.

"Well, put down your little lover and follow me, we gotta talk about the raid." I couldn't resist a last tease before I got down to serious. Syaoran looked ready to retort, but at the look of seriousness on my face he shut his mouth (wise, huh?) and set Sakura on a bench. For now, he'd obey, but I could count on being dead later . . .

First, I'd better explain about the layout and design of the hangout. It was built specifically and only for us. The halls twisted in a mind-numbing maze, which was meant to confuse intruders. However, they'd only be confused so if they made it past specialized traps that could only be turned on by me. Secret passages between hallways and rooms further confused unwanted visitors and made it easier for our people to escape. My room and a few meeting rooms were completely soundproofed.

"Ah, good evening Futomaki." Syaoran bowed hurriedly.

Futomaki responded with a growl, but at a glare from me he actually mumbled a greeting.

"Now, to business." I sunk into a chair. Futomaki settled carefully onto a couch, and Syaoran plopped down by the fireplace facing us. "Both of you know there is a threat of a raid."

Futomaki grimaced. Syaoran simply gritted his teeth, set his jaw and nodded.

"We need to start making preperations. Syaoran, I've already assigned you training everyone. Futomaki, it would be a great help if you could oversee the building of our defenses, or our fortifications. Would you mind doing that?"

"Not at all." Futomaki huffed gruffly. "However, I would like to train everyone as well." He sent Syaoran an oh-so-subtle (not) glare from the corner of his eye. Syaoran made the stupid choice and rolled his eyes in response, thus deepening Futomaki's hatred for him.

"Fine by me, but it's really up to Syaoran. Syao?"

He paused, thinking (yes, he's capable of that). "If you hadn't said you were for it, I might have." Another pause. Was this really _Syaoran_ talking?! Scratch that, duh. "We have different styles, and different ways of fighting. I'm swords and complex martial arts. I can't teach them my type of martial arts; it takes too long. Your philosophy is, if it moves and it's an enemy you hit it. What will the members do when they're disarmed? When you train them, I will watch ramifications."

"Ramy-what-nows?" Futomaki blinked stupidly. Note to self: don't use fancy words around this guy. I cracked up at my own thought. Which, judging by Syaoran's expression, he'd thought the same thing.

"Ramifications." I repeated through my laughter. "The defenses? Our fortifications, as I put it?"

"OoOoOoOoh . . . I get it!" No you don't.

"All right then, we'll split it in half. One group trains in the morning, the other in the afternoon. We switch after lunch, so if one group is building in the morning it trains in the afternoon." I nodded, seeing it all in my mind. "Syaoran can train on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Futomaki, you'll get Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. On Sundays, we'll rest. This'll keep up until the raid."

"What about you?" Futomaki looked somewhat confused.

"Oh, I'll just shuffle back and forth." I waved a hand dismissively. "Either that or set more traps."

"Okay . . ."

"That's all. Futomaki, you can go. Syaoran, I want you to stay a minute."

Futomaki nodded, standing slowly. As he opened the door, pain shot through his back and he started to fall. Syaoran, of all people, rushed to his side and helped him stand. Futomaki nodded his rough thanks, then left.

Syaoran stared at the door, leaving me in my own thoughts. I frowned, thinking of the premonition both Master Clow and I had had. Splashes of blood, Satosuke's triumphant glare, and then black. I couldn't make sense of it, and neither could Master Clow. However, as my gaze focused on Syaoran's back for a split second, I understood and realized what I had to do.

Said subject of my attention turned to face me, and his expression showed pure surprise. Apparently, I was frowning too deeply for his comfort, and I knew my eyes held fear and worry.

"E-Eriol . . . ?" he called me tenatively back to the present.

As suddenly as the frown had appeared, I whisked it away. I gave Syaoran my best smile at the time, which I knew would come out pitifully weak.

"Syaoran . . . I'm gonna die in this raid."

"W-WHAT?!?!?!" he stammered in surprise, eyebrows shootink up. "Oh, no, I get it. You're making a sick joke, right?"

I just stared and stared at him. Comprehension dawned in his eyes.

"You . . . you're not joking? You really think you're gonna die . . ."

"When I die, you'll be leader." I hung my head. "However, since we both know now, I want you to come to my room every night after dinner for—"

"Don't you **dare** say 'lessons', Eriol!" He interrupted. "You are my leader, so as your subordinate I know my opinion is overruled. But you are also my friend, and as _your_ friend I 'm full prepared to get down on my knees and _beg_ you to change your mind."

"But . . ." I tried, surprised. It's really really really rare for him to get down on his knees for anything.

"First of all, you will not die." He continued, certain of what he was saying. "Second, if you don't die I won't be leader. Third, I'm definitely the wrong choice. Tomoyo, Takashi, even Futomaki would be a better leader than I would."

"But . . ."

"We are friends, Eriol. We are supposed to go through life together. We are supposed to grow old together. We are supposed to die _together_."

"S-Syaoran . . ." I'd never heard him this quiet.

"Know this, my master Eriol: no matter how sure you are, I will _**not**_ let you die." He looked me in the eye, then nodded and crossed to the door. "Remember that."

I know he felt my hurt gaze on his back as he left.


	6. Let the Training    Begin

**A/N:** _Sorry for the wait! My family closed on our new house, so we're in the process of moving, with the painting and the boxes and all (yes, my hair will be a different color in spots for a while). It might be a while before the next update or so, but please hang with me for a while. Moving won't take too long, I hope. Anyway, here's your next chapter, and yes, I'm shutting up now._

**_Sakura's POV (yes, again, finally!)_**

I sighed, swerving to avoid another gang member. I saw my friend Meilin's black-bunned hair not too far away, and moved to stand next to her.

"Morning Meilin."

"Good morning Sakura!" she beamed back.

"Hoe, I wanted to build the defenses . . . why do I have to have a swords-idiot teach me?" I've already got Syaoran for that . . .

"Hey, will he be a _cute_ swords-idiot?" Meilin asked hopefully.

"Meilin, don't you have a fiancé or something?" I raised an eyebrow. "I don't think he'd like you checking out other guys. Besides, the swords-idiot's probably gonna be old an' grey an' snappy an' mean an cree—"

My rant was interrupted by Meilin squaling. "Oooh, there's a _real_ hottie!" Without another word (mostly some unintelligible shrieks and squeals) she ran off into the crowd. I swear, she's got radar or somethin' . . . anyway, I took off after her to drag her back.

"Stupid woman, get back here already." I didn't even spare the poor guy a glance.

"Aha, so now I see your grumpy side." A familiar voice chuckled over Meilin's protests.

"Grumpy side?! Ugh, the nerve . . ." I trailed off, staring. " . . . uh, oops?"

"Well, nerve is one name for it." Syaoran's dazzling (ooh, don't go there . . .) amber eyes glinted with amusement. "Others might simply choose 'bad mouthing'. But then again, you aren't one for the simple."

"Hoeee, Syaoran, I'm sorry!"

He laughed as Meilin pouted "Syaoooooraaaaan, you know Sakura?"

"Yeah, she assaulted me with a broom, oh-dear-cousin mine." Syaoran blinked at her.

"Can't you call me Meilin? We are fiances, after all!"

"Only until you find an actual boyfriend."

"But you're the best anyone can get!"

"Waitaminnut, waitaminnut . . . you two are cousins?" I asked, completely and curiously baffled. Yeah, I was a few sentences back. Shut up already.

"Yep, even though there's not much of a resemblence." Syaoran shrugged. "Ying Fa, why are you here, anyway?"

"Swords training for the raid. Some old geezer's gonna teach us. " I waved a hand dismissively.

"Old . . . geezer?" He chuckled. "Nice, I'll remember that for when I get revenge on you someday."

"Why are you here then, if you're second-in-command and all? Shouldn't you be busy organizing something or other? And whaddya mean, _revenge_?!"

"I'm your 'old geezer', psycho woman." Syaoran laughed as he walked into the crowd.

"Hey, what about my last question!" I yelled after him, but the # ignored me. I huffed, then turned to meet Meilin's red glare. Whoa! Where did that come from?!

"Stay away from Syaoran." She glared at me. "He's my fiance, so keep your grubby mitts off him."

Fiance? That's new . . . "Hoe, I don't even like him like that, Meilin! I didn't even know you two were related, not to mention engaged! No way am I getting involved with your man." I reassured her. Still . . . that chocolate hair was just _perfectly_ messy, and he _is_ pretty cute . . . looks fit . . . not to mention that slight accent, and those god-damned _gorgeous_ amber eyes . . . hoe! Sakura! Bad thoughts, bad thoughts, and right after you just told Meilin you didn't like him! But I don't like him! AAAAAAAAARGH!

"Yay!" Meilin's angry look disappeared as fast as it'd come, and I sweatdropped. Okay . . .

Syaoran jumped up on a table,looking formidable at his oh-so-tall six feet. "Oi! Can I have your attention?"

No one really paid attention,except me and Meilin of course. I was simply standing there, whiloe Meilin was all gaga-eyed. Eww . . . why did Syaoran propose to her again?

"OI!!! I need your attention so we can get started, people!"

Eh, a couple people looked up this time,but then went back to chatting with their friends. I sighed when Syaoran left his little makeshift 'stage', but blinked in curiousity when he jumped up with something hanging over his back. It looked kinda familiar and kinda stick-shaped . . .

I understood when his sword thudded loudly into the table. It boomed, echoing in the hall and catching everyone off-guard. About half stared up at him in surprise. However, the other, more important half still managed to ignore him. To this day, I still don't know how you could ignore such a boom.

He janked the sword out (cool . . .) and swung it around his head. It swiped theough the air, over and under in an impressive display of flashing silver (ooh, I like that phrase). Soon, he had everyone's complete attention.

It thudded into the poor table again, louder than before. If anyone hadn't been paying attention to his eye-catcher, they sure were now. Syaoran leaned on the hilt of his sword, looking pretty irritated and annoyed, not to mention pretty scary . . .

"Do I have your attention _now_?" he snapped. Everyone nodded a fervent yes. He gave them all a bright smile. "Good."

"You're all probably wondering what you're doing here. Well, I'll give it to you straight . . . there is a high chance of a raid." Syaoran had to re-thump-boom-bang-_whatever_ his sword several times when excaimations burst out. Everyone calmed . . . eventually. "That's why you are here, and why_ I _am here. Eriol, Futomaki and I all agree that every one of you need to know how to fight, both defense and offense."

"So we'll be training every day?" someone asked.

"Technically." Syaoran's reply was slow and thoughtful. "Humn, you're the morning group for me, so on Monday through Saturday you'll train in the morning. In the afternoon, you'll build the defenses. Understand so far?" Everyone nodded, so he continued. "I'll train you in swordson Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Futomaki will teach you hand-to-hand combat on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Sunday is rest day. After training, you get an hour for lunch and then you work on building defenses. Good?"

Everyone nodded. He was being pretty clear, and speaking loudly enough that everyone could hear easily.

"Good. Um, length is from the ground to your thigh, I guess. They're on the right wall . . ." Syaoran pointed, and everyone swarmed over to go get a sword (except for me, seeing as I had _my_ sword already on my hip).

I ambled over to him as he jumped down. "Syaoran."

He hadn't noticed me yet, so he jumped in surprise. As soon as he saw it was me, he smiled. "Hey! Whatcha need?"

"Two things."

The sword slid over his head and into the sheath, an action I translated to mean he was listening. Cool.

"First, I wanna know: are you and Meilin really fiances?"

Syaoran . . . grimaced? Huh, wierd, normally someone would be happy to be engaged to their love or summat like that. "Yeah, really, but I keep hoping she'll find a good boyfriend so it'll be off." At my apparently confused face, he elaborated. "See, I'm the heir to the Li clan, which means I have to get married before I turn eighteen. There's a stupid rule that my 'wife' has to be pefectly suited for me and all that junk, so the elders chose Meilin."

"You . . . don't love her?"

"Not really. Maybe as a sister, but nothing more." He shifted his weight, obviously uncomfortable. "Um. What was number two?"

"Just don't die in the raid, okay?"

I think I'd just surprised Syaoran, because it took a minute for him to respond. He blinked, then grinned and put a hand on top of my head (shows you how tall he is and how short I am . . . ARGH, why can't I be TALLER?!?!).

"Promise."

All of a sudden, Meilin whammed into my side at a dead run. "Syaoooooorannnnnn, is this right?" she cooed, showing him an elegant sword with jewels all over the hilt.

"My mom bought you that, didn't she? No, don't answer that." Syaoran remained invulnerable to her . . . whatever you wanna call it. "See ya Ying Fa."

Meilin hissed at me. "What did I say about staying away from my man, Sakura!"

"Hoe! I was just asking him about the engagement!" Okay, so it wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a whole _lie_ either.

"Okay! But still,, you better watch it." Meilin's glare didn't lessen.

"I'm serious Meilin! We're just friends!"

"Hmmm . . . ." Meilin inspected me. We were interrupted by Syaoran remounting his table.

"All right, that was . . . somewhat organized. Anyway, see those colored squares? One for each person." He gestured to the colored square tile pattern on the floor. I shrugged and moved to stand in one. Meilin took the one directly next to me.

Thus, our training started.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sakura, wasn't training fun?" Meilin collasped on her bed after building the defenses. "Building stuff was exhausing . . . but training was fun! Right Sakura? Right?"

"If you say so." I yawned. "So sore . . . Eh, I'll see you tomorrow Meilin. Too tired . . . "

"Later!" Meilin waved, then started crooning over Syaoran or something like that. It's hard to repress a scared shiver from going down your spine when she does that. It's really pretty creepy . . . I shrugged the thought off and went to my room.

In bed, I mulled over my day. Training, I had to admit, really had been fun. True, I was really, really, really sore, but the trainning had still been pretty fun. Futomaki and the defenses building had been a little . . . rough, I guess. There'd been no breaks, and he'd barked out order after order after order after _order_ after _order_ . . . I think it's a wonder Eriol made him his left-hand man. Futomaki was the opposite leader of Syaoran, who'd been among us and helping us as he trained us.

And yes, my thoughts now turned to Syaoran and my feelings concerning him. He is pretty handsome, and his smile is almost sweet. I turned my head, looking at the plush panda he'd won for me just yesterday. When around Syaoran, everything becomes a blur of events and time passes too quickly. I reall had no idea how I felt about him, and hoped it would stay as a friendship sort of thing.

I groaned and threw off the blankets. All this thinking was giving me a headache. Now we know why I suck at math . . . I need a walk. Yeah, a walk will help . . . I think.

This time to save my poor blanket from being forgotten in mud or who-knows-what, I actually got re-dressed.

Five minutes later, I was ambling calmly past the beginning of our defenses. It was almost peaceful, until I encountered a large thud.

I jumped, startled, and started feeling the wall for a broom. I stopped myself, paused, and almost started giggling. Why was I searching for a _broom_ when I've got a _sword_ right next to me? Hand on the hilt of said sword, I peeked around the corner and consequently froze.

Syaoran sighed, looking at his dirt-covered hands, then at the object of his rapt attention. "Damn board, why don't you _behave_?" On 'behave', he rammed his shoulder against a large wooden board. It stubbornly refused to break.

He wiped his forehead clear of sweat, then looped his fingers under said board. With a grunt or two, he pulled it away from the pile of wood and metal and junk. He drew his sword, which was laying not too far away on the ground and sliced through the board (no surprise there, eh?). With another grunt, he heaved the two peices into place. Big surprise that he was sweating again when he was done.

"Damn you, you damn board. Cauase me more trouble than your worth." He panted, glaring proudly at the board. After a minute of no response from said board, he sat and . . . _took off his shirt?!_

His skin was evenly tanned, and completely unblemished. Muscles rippled underneath when he moved, even if he was pretty slim for a guy of sixteen. His chest was somewhat muscled, and he had a _very_ clear six-pack. His arms were muscled a little more than his chest. Even though he wasn't hugely muscular, he looked like he was bursting with hidden strength.

I gasped, then slapped a hand over my mouth. Lucklily, he hadn't heard either, so my hiding spot remained undetected. I flushed waaaaaay deep when I caught myself complimenting his figure in my mind.

I turned and fled back to my room, face burning. Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god . . . I slammed the door, and leaned against it. Sliding to the floor, I panted and covered my face with my hands. I was bright red, and the blush stubbornly refused to fade.

Eventually, it did fade, but I stayed breathless.

Oh god . . . I understand why Meilin isn't even _bothering_ to search for a new boyfriend . . .


	7. Welcome to my Past

**_Sakura's POV:_**

"Sakura! Hey, hey, Sakura!"

Eh? Someone's calling my name? I turned, and almost dropped dead. Was that . . . _Eriol_ running towards me? No way . . .

Way. "Sakura! Have you seen Syaoran since after dinner?"

I flushed beet-red at the memory. Oh yeah. That. "N-no, not at all!" It musta come out in a rush, as Eriol raised a blue-black eyebrow at me. Uh-oh . . . shun the non-believer! Yeah, that's it, _SHUNNNNN_!!!

"Any idea where he could have gone? Takashi can leave the hospital today, and Syaoran expressed interest in wanting to go."

I snapped out of my mind rant. Welcome the believer! "Nope. No idea." Wait a sec . . . why was he even asking _me_ anyway? Shouldn't he be asking Meilin, who is Syaoran's fiance? Calm down Sakura, you should be happy for your friend . . . yeah, happy . . . ARGH, NOT WORKING!

Eriol remained oblivious to the inner workings of my mind at the moment. "Oh. Then, can you help me find him? Yes, you will. I'll search outside, you search inside." He walked off without leaving any time for a reply. But hell, what kind of reply _could_ I have made? He's the leader after all.

"Syaooooooooooooooooooooooooorannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn . . ." I called in monotone, not budging from my spot on a bench. No way was I moving. "Syaooooooooooooooooooooooorannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn . . . Syaooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn . . . "

"Any luck?" Eriol came running back.

"Nope, nuffin'." was my reply.

Eriol growled a curse under his breath. I don't know which one, so don't bother asking. "He's supposed to watch the building today, too . . . where might he have gone?"

"Well, seeing as he's Takashi's friend and all, my guess would be at the hospital." I yawned. I was tired, and when I was tired I was cranky. When I was cranky, my temper was short, and when my temper was short, so were responses to annoying questions of any kind. Which would probably explain why Meilin wasn't sitting next to me right about now.

"Hah! He's probably getting a room and ambulance reserved for me." Eriol scoffed, turning _very_ darkly-creepy.

"Whut?"

"Nevermind then. C'mon."

"I'm bringin' Chiharu. Takashi's her boyfriend."

"But it only lets in two visitors, and if Syaoran's there . . ."

"Chiharu's comin'."

"But---"

"CHIHARU. IS. COMIN'."

" . . . . okay . . . ."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Syaoran!" Eriol exclaimed.

"Takashi!" Chiharu shouted.

"Eriol?" Takashi blinked.

Eriol pointed to Chiharu. "Chiharu."

"Chiharu!"

"Eriol?" Chiharu blinked, confused.

"Takashi!" Eriol waved an arm helplessly.

"Sakura!" I yelled, beaming when they all stared at me. "What, you guys were shouting each other's names and all. I wanted to join in."

Everyone sweatdropped, until I saw Syaoran and had the typical response of anyone finding who/ what they were looking for in the first place. "AHA!!!"

"Shush!" Takasshi clapped a hand over my happy yell. "He's asleep!"

"Really?" Eriol raised an eyebrow. "Syaoran never sleeps in front of people. It's just not done. He's faking."

"Uh-uh." Takashi made the 'shh' sign to all three of us. Then, he reached out and shook Syaoran's shoulder gently. "Syaoran buddy, wake up . . ."

Syaoran simply moaned, grumbled something untangible, and swatted Takashi's hand away. He rolled his head to the other side, presumably to escape the annoying pest trying to wake him up. His eyes really were closed.

"He came to visit, stayed the night through and fell asleep a few minutes before you guys came in." Takashi explained in a whisper.

Eriol ruffled Syaoran's hair companion-like, which resulted in another swat and some more grumbles as I inspected his sleeping face. He was deep in dream-world, sitting on a pulled-up chair by the bed. His head rested by Takashi's left arm, and was nestled in his own arms. The chocolate hair flopped into his closed eyes, and the morning sun lit his face and made the tan glow slightly.

"Poor guy's exhausted." was my reasonable conclusion.

"He stayed to keep me awake, as I'm not supposed to sleep for the next twenty-some-odd hours. Told me stories about a Feimei, Fuutie, Seifa and Fanren."

"Seifa? Fuutie? Feimei, _and_ Fanren? He told you about them?"

"Yep, but he stopped when he got to their training." Huh? Waitaminnut . . . Takashi was actually telling the **_truth_** for once? Hoe! "My favorite part was when the Aztecs--" Eh, guess not.

Chiharu interrupted by whacking Takashi on the head with her little rubber-mallet-o'-doomness-and-devastation. She whammed hard enough to hurt, but not hard enough to hurt his jaw.

"OW!" Takashi cried, reasonably so. "Uh, I meant, my favorite part was when they dressed him up . . ."

Eriol chuckled. "I liked that part too. So he really told you about them?"

"Yep. But seriously, why stop where they began their training? It's such a cliffhanger . . ."

"I dunno. Even I haven't heard past there. I was there, he just hasn't told me his side of the story or what happened to his family afterwards." Eriol placed a finger on his chin thoughtfully.

I had remained silent for long enough. "Okay, I'm confused. Who are these Feimei, Seifa, Fuutie and Fanren?" I crossed my arms. No way was I going anywhere without an answer this time. Syaoran had waaaaaaaaaaay too many mysteries up his sleeve . . .

Eriol opened his mouth, then shut it, only to open it again a second later. After closing it a second time, he said "I'll . . . I'll tell you all I know, but let's talk in the hall. I don't wanna wake Syaoran."

"Mm'kay." Chiharu nodded, and helped Takashi balance his way out of the hospital bed without touching Syaoran. They flocked out to the hall, then all focused their strongest stares on Eriol.

Obvoiusly uncomfortable with the very . . . focused stares, Eriol shifted uncomfortably before speaking. "Fuutie, Fanren, Seifa and Feimei were Syaoran's older sisters."

"Really? Wow! I never knew he was the baby of the family!" Takashi's eyebrows shot up. "He sure doesn't act like the youngest."

Eriol shrugged. "They used to be part of the gang, like Syaoran. That is, until it happened."

"What, they left the gang? Why? I wanna meet them!" I bounced up and down in excitement. Takashi and Chiharu nodded their agreement.

Eriol raised an eyebrow at us. "If you're all for talking to the dead and that ouija-board-mumbo-jumbo, be my guest."

"Talking to the . . . dead?" Chiharu gulped.

"Seifa and Feimei are dead, Fanren and Fuutie too." Eriol whispered. "Hey, maybe if we all gang up on him, he'll go on . . ."

"Who go on with what?" Syaoran rubbed an eye sleepily in the doorway.

"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" I screeched, jumping away. He blinked at me, eyes wide with surprise.

"I didn't know I was _that_ bad when I woke up . . ."

Everyone laughed, even me. In my mind, I was slapping myself over and over. Great! Good job, Sakura! Scare the guy already, then make him relive his sisters' deaths, great idea! Ooooooh, so impressed!

"Anyway, you guys were whispering about getting someone to go on with something. Who and what?" Syaoran glued his eyes to Eriol's face, looking very expectant. Kinda creepy, really . . .

"Um . . . . er, uh . . . ." Eriol stammered, then threw his hands in the air. "DON'T HURT MEEEEEEEEE!" He ran behind me, a look of terror on his face.

"Why are you running?" I asked. "He's not gonna hurt you!"

"Are you kidding? Syaoran absolutely _hates_ it when _anyone_ digs into his past. He'll kill me for telling you as much as I have!" Eriol whispered back.

"Oh. But you didn't tell that much . . ." I whispered back.

"Not by Syaoran's standards. Anything qualifies as too much."

"Oh . . ."

Syaoran peered around me, narrowing his eyes at Eriol. "Eriol . . . . what did you tell them . . . ?" I shivered from his closeness and the total scary-ness in his expression.

"Only that you had four sisters and that they died." Eriol winced.

"That's it?" The scary look was replaced with one of confusion.

Eriol looked almost baffled. "You're . . . not mad?"

"Not particularily." He finally stepped away, and breathing suddenly got easier. "I did tell Takashi up to their training, so if anything it's my fault."

"Well, in that case . . . I order you to continue the story!" Eriol stood from behind me and planted his hands on his hips proudly.

Syaoran crossed his arms, face doubtful. "Don't push your luck, buddy."

"C'mon Syaoran, please?" I tried Meilin's signature pout. No effect, except a raised eyebrow. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!" I waved my arms around, almost slapping Chiharu in the face.

"Fine, but I warn you, it's not a particularily happy ending . . ."

Eriol placed a reassuring hand on his best friend's shoulder. "We know."

Syaoran looked at each of us weakly, gathering strength. His eyes lingered on mine before he looked at the ground, sighing.

"They'd just started their training the day before . . ." _and all four excelled already. They were quick to learn swords, languages, defenses, plans, battle formations, everything. Within a few months, they were masters in everything. They even managed to come up with a move where they'd toss a sword back and forth while fighting with their martial arts. Worked amazingly well with raids, as there were three that year. Their acheivements caught the eyes of anyone they met, and thus the leader was captured. Hatsuko had to have them as his inner circle. Plus, everything they learned, they taught to me._

_"Syaoran, my adorable little brother!" they'd glomped me the fourth month of their training._

_"Uh, hi, sisters . . . " I tried to inch towards the door, thinking they were about to attack me with make-up and dresses again._

_"Syaoran, guess what guess what guess what?!?!?!" Feimei begged._

_"You just got a new dress I need to model? Again?"_

_"No no no, silly! Try again!" Fanren giggled._

_"Um, you bought new lipstick?"_

_"No! We were promoted!" Fuutie squealed._

_Seifa, being the (marginally) more mature and calm, touseled my hair. I hated that. "I'm the second-in-command, and those three are third."_

_"Really? Awesome!" I told them, both genuinely proud and genuinely relieved. I wouldn't have been able to stand another dress-up session. "Mom and Dad'll be soo proud!"_

_And they were. We celebrated, and celebrated, and celebrated. Mom and Dad couldn't have been happier, I guess._

_And we were still partying when the raid began._

_Fanren knew it first, and only seconds after the rest of my sisters knew. Without sparing even a moment, they thrust me, Mom and Dad under the table. They didn't even say anything as they ran out, Feimei grabbing the sword._

_"Girls! GIRLS!" Dad shouted after them._

_"What's goin' on? Where are onee-chans going?" I started to panic. In my panic, I used my childhood name for my sisters._

_"Stop with that stupid name!" Dad snapped. "For heaven's sake, you're amost 13! Address them with respect!"_

_"Dad . . . I'm 15 . . ."_

_"Then act your age already!"_

_I must have glared at him before exploding. "You're always belittling me, always saying I'm not good enough. You can't even remember how old I am! You want me to act my age? FINE!!!" I slid under him and out from under the table. He didn't even call out after me as I ran out the door._

_As soon as I was out the door, the fight surged around me. That puzzled me for a moment, as my house was on the other side of town from the hangout. It must have spread. Squinting past thrashing bodies, I saw my sisters, using their special maneuver to fell four men in a matter of minutes. I tried to squirm my way over, but a burly raider stood in my way._

_Then, I realized . . . in my fleeing of the house, I'd not grabbed a weapon! The raider noticed, and leered. Gross . . . a large warrior with muscles and a gun looming over a defenseless 15-year-old. Not good at all . . . thing's weren't exactly -----------_

"Hey, this si where you met us!" Takashi and Eriol chorused.

Syaoran opened one eye, arms crossed in the telling of his tale (ooh, I like that phrase too!). He gave them a reasonably soft glare (by his standards, of course) and said sarcastically "Yes, and you just interrupted for a oh-so-apprecciated cliffhanger."

"Well, if you're gonna be that way . . ." Eriol huffed, looked away and pouted.

Syaoran actually chuckled. "I'm kidding, Eriol. You should know me better than that by now. After all, this is where I met you, isn't it? Wouldn't wanna ruin such a wonderful moment."

"You and your sarcasm." Eriol retorted.

"Just move on already!" Chiharu and I chorused, mocking the boys.

"Things weren't going so well . . ." _but not in the way you'd think._

_I dodged a bullet (martial arts come in handy when you're really really really panicked) and cursed myself in my head. Of all the things to forget, it had to be a _weapon_ in a _raid_. I mean, seriously!_

_Suddenly, he stopped and gaped, standing still. Then, he fell forward, dead. I stared at him for a couple seconds before looking up at my savior._

_Oops. Make that saviors. A black-haired, blue-eyed boy stood behind a brown-haired guy with a gun. The barrel was smoking, and my first impression was that they were raiders._

_"Hiya! I'm Mark Jewitt, and this is my good ol' buddy John Stuart!" The brown-haired guy saluted me with his gun._

_"Uh . . ." What exactly does one say in such a situation, other than the obvoius thank-yous? "Uhm . . . hi?"_

_The brown-haired guy, Mark Jewitt, beamed. "Oooh, nice one! You know when teh Mayas were saved from the terrorists, they always said---"_

_"Shut up Takashi." The black-haired guy hit him over the head. "Don't listen to him, all he says is lies." He told me, smiling. "I'm Eriol Hiiragizawa, and the encyclopedia over there is Takashi Yamazaki. You are . . . ?"_

_"Syaoran Li, huh?" Takashi beamed._

_I nodded. Everyone knew my sisters. My sisters knew me. The connection should be obvous._

_"Yes! We finally meet the troublemaker! I toldja we'd meet 'im Eriol! I win, I win! Fork it over, c'mon!" takashi cheered as Eriol sighed and handed him $25._

_"Shut up already."_

_"Troublemaker? I'll get them later for that one . . ." I muttered under my breath._

_"Hey, genius kid, c'mon. We'll get you to your sisters." Takashi jumped up and down in excitement._

_"Genius kid? Ano, you must be confusing me for Fuutie . . ."_

_"No, the Four Wonders have told us about you, and how you're a fast learner." Eriol tapped me on the head. At the time, he was taller than me. "It really is pretty cool to meet you in person."_

_"Uh, hi?" How else should I have responded?_

_Takashi cracked up, and Eriol hit him over the head again. "Hey, what was that for!"_

_"Shut up already. C'mon Syaoran, we'll help you get to your sisters." Eriol rolled his eyes, beckoning me after him. I followed, duh._

_When we were halfway there, Eriol and Takashi were mobbed. As we started to sink under a tide of fists, Eriol turned to me._

_"All right, this is where you get off. See ya soon."_

_"Huh?" I asked, but he and Takashi were already making a sort of tunnel between the raiders. "Hey hey, waitaminnut!"_

_"What?" they chorused, turning to face me._

_"Wanna be friends?"_

_"Sure." Eriol beamed, and Takashi gave me a thumbs-up. Then, "Now go already!" Without leaving room for protest, they promptly pushed me through the hole. The force actually _propelled_ me forwards; man, were those two strong!_

_I came to a sudden stop by crashing into the raider Fuutie was fighting._

_"Syaoran! Where did you come from?!"_

_I couldn't resist being a smart-aleck just this once. "Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very very much---"_

_"Nevermind!" Fuutie laughed, interrupting. "Seriously, why are you out here?"_

_I ducked under a raider's sword, and she slashed the guy down as I answered. "Dad told me to act my age. Can you believe he thought I was still 13?"_

_"You are small for your age. Where's your weapon?"_

_I looked down at my empty hands, then grinned at her. "Well, that's kinda a funny story . . ."_

_"You didn't grab one, huh?"_

_" . . . yeeeeeah, that's pretty close . . ."_

_"Then how do you expect to fight?" she didn't see the raider coming from behind. I gasped, pushing her head down. Then, joy upon joys, I leapfrogged her and kicked his face in._

_"Xiao-Lang, what the . . . dear gods . . ." Fuutie stared at the fallen raider as she threw the sword to Fanren. "So much for weapons . . ."_

_I smiled weakly at her, and we went to work. I fought alongside Fuutie, Feimei and Fanren, switching from one to the other like the sword (but not at the same time, that would have hurt). However, we were seperated, and I couldn't find my sisters anywhere. Instead, I ran into Takashi and Eriol again._

_"Dude, we've got to stop meeting like this." Takashi grinned, shaking his head. "It's like how the Americans created sushi, and now they only come to Tomeda to---"_

_"Shut up already!" Eriol hit him over the head. He'd probably been doing that a lot already . . . "Takashi's right about the meeting like this, but now we fight!"_

_"Kick butt, buddy!"_

_I shrugged, but kicked him in the butt anyway. He asked for it._

_"Shoulders, now!" Takashi yelled in response. I figured he wanted me up there for some reason, so I flipped up. I landed what I hoped was gently, then flipped back down and onto the heads of two raiders. I landed in my signature cat-like crouch and blinked back at Takashi and Eriol._

_They looked at each other for a moment, then laughed. "Okay, new plan. You watch our backs, and we'll watch yours."_

_"Gotcha." I slid under Eriol and yanked the feet out from under another raider. Takashi finished the job by whacking him over the head, smiling and shaking his head as if amused by something._

_Things went on like so for a while, until I was seperated from them yet again. I knew it would be impossible to find them again in this mad rush, so I just fought on my own for a while. But, in the time it took Eriol or Feimei to fell five, I'd only fell one raider. Having fought like so for so long, I was tiring and my strength was fading fast. Definetely not good._

_A raider managed to trip me, and down I went. Just as he was about to deliver the fatal blow, a sword sprouted from his chest. It was almost comical how he looked at the sword, then at his, at me, and then back to the sword. He gave me a worried sort of grimace as he fell forward slowly._

_Seifa yanked the sword out of the body, kneeling next to me. She didn't hesitate to start checking me over for injuries._

_That is probably the reason why she didn't see the man coming until it was too late._

_"SEIFA!" I yelled. "Behind you!"_

_She turned, and saw the man raise his sword. She didn't even reach for her own, and the raider ran his straight through her chest. He ran off laughing as Seifa fell._

_"Seifa! What the hell were you thinking?! Why didn't you block it?!" I scurried over, eyes wide. "Why didn't you dodge?!"_

_"If I had . . . it would have hit you . . . and we couldn't let that happen . . ." Seifa gasped, smiling slightly._

_Eriol appeared, supporting Hatsuko._

_"Ah, Seifa too. First Fuutie, then Fanren, and Feimei, and now Seifa." the leader pulled away and leaned against the wall. A dark blot was spreading on his stomach. "In that case . . . I'll appoint a new inner circle . . ."_

_I tuned him out then, trying to save Seifa. Hatsuko finished naming Eriol leader, then pulled me back off Seifa's body._

_"Syaoran. You are my suboordinate now. I cannot leave Hiiragizawa leader without . . . filling the posts."_

_"Seifa's alive. She's faking, making a sick joke." I narrowed my eyes at him._

_"Syaoran, please." Hatsuko sighed. "I know you loved your sisters, but they're dead. I didn't know them very well, but I'm fairly sure I can guess what they would have wanted you to have." He reached for my sisters' sword._

_"You would be the only one they would trust with this." He handed it to me. As soon as I touched it, Seifa's head fell off my lap. I stared at her body, clutching the sword tight without knowing it. Eventually, I looked away and to the sword, and my tears finally fell. I sobbed for a while, and Eriol rested a reasssuring hand on my shoulder._

_When my sobs died away, so did the raiders. We'd just barely won the fight, but at what cost?_

_I sighed, and slowly closed Seifa's eyes. "Goodbye, Seifa. Goodbye, Fanren. Goodbye, Feimei. Goodbye, Fuutie . . . I'll do my best to follow in each of your footsteps, every one of them. Your examples, your morals, your memory will never, ever die."_

_Slowly, I stood, gently refusing Eriol's help. I fingered the sword for a moment, then loosened the belt attached to the scabbard. After a moment of hesitation, I sighed and slipped it over my head and left arm. The sword settled on my back, heavy but not uncomfortable._

_Eriol said nothing as I walked away._

_Mom and Dad took it hard. It only got worse after Dad threw himself off a cliff, and Mom started to starve herself away to nothing. Not that I couldn't understand their reasons for being so heartbroken._

_Mom and Dad had adored their daughters. To Dad, they were the ideal team, the ideal heritage. I was the leftovers, the bad parts, the throwaways. When he lost his shining stars, only to have a monotone wife and trashy son left, I understood his jump. Mom was the same, and the only reason she didn't die was because she was too strong for death to keep._

_In my own opinion, I was worse for wear. Exhausted of hope, sisters fone, father suicided, mother an empty shell. That was the external loss, the one everyone saw. In my mind and heart, I knew it was my fault Seifa was dead. Probably my fault for the other three, too. It was my fault they were gone, and thus my fault for Dad dead and Mom's pain. I knew it, and the truth still hurts._

_"That's what _I am today." Syaoran finished, then went and grabbed the sword. Just like in his story, he fingered the belt before sliding it over his head and arm. It settled on his back, and Takashi was the one who recognized it.

"Seifa . . . Fanren . . . Feimei . . . Fuutie . . ."

Syaoran didn't even look back as he left.


	8. Moving On

**A/N:**_ It feels good to be back online! I feel my brain cells dying all over again . . . what a wonderful feeling. However, I doubt you'd like to read about my dying brain cells, so I'll move on. I want to thank ALL the reviewers who put up with me, my move, and my still-not-bitter loss of my internet. Here goes . . ._

_**YumYumXP**_

_**s&s4eva**_

_**rosedreamer101**_

_**Frosted BlossomZ**_

_**TheHeart14**_

_**Desert-chan**_

_**yingfa07**_

_**infiniteternity**_

_Seriously, thanks. Moving on yet again; on with what you're actually here to read._

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**_Sakura's POV:_**

"Syaooooooooooooraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan hunny, there you are!" Meilin squealed, throwing her arms around her fiance (still hate that, don't hate that, still hate it anyway, this was the track of my mind for the last half-hour). He didn't even groan, just silently removing her arms from around his shoulders. While she was still in miniature shock, he walked away in what could only be described as a slouch.

It was Tuesday. Yesterday was Monday, tommorrow was Wednesday, today was Tuesday. This was for my own mental clarity; I do that for maybe five seconds at random spots in the day. It reminds me what day it is. Anyway, it was Tuesday, so Syaoran was in charge of building. The morning group hadn't seemed to have gotten very far, but eventually we saw that the morning group had been working on the outer defenses. Those looked pretty strong, and well under way. That would explain the proud smiles of the morning group . . .

I paused in my digging of a six-foot deep, six-foot long trench which seemed to have no absolute use to me. Inspecting Syaoran, I nodded. Yep, he was depressed. Shaking my head, I got back to work.

All that afternoon, he (meaning Syaoran) gave orders in quiet, careful tones.It was as if his depression spread in waves; everyone worked in relative silence (meaning they didn't talk, partially because of the depressed-wave-things and partly because we couldn't have heard each other anyway). Syaoran had already called four breaks when someone decided to act during the fifth.

Unsurprisingly, it was sensitive Tomoyo Daidouji, my bestest-bestest-bestest-_bestest_ (if you haven't gotten the idea by now, stop reading this page already) friend ever. She walked very pointedly right up to Syaoran, who blinked up at her expectantly.

"Can I help you?"

She looked him in the eye for a moment, held it for another moment, then . . . hugged him tightly. Over her shoulder, Syaoran blinked in surprise and had one of the funniest expressions ever on his face.

"We have no idea what's bothering you so much, but we know we want you to know that some of us are here for you." she told him gently.

"Please cheer up again soon . . ." Rika Sasaki, my other bestest-bestest-bestest-_bestest_ friend ever, told Syaoran shyly. "We hate to see you like this . . ."

Syaoran looked around as a small crowd gathered around him, each offering some form of support. Slowly, he gave a small smile. "So much for a break . . . when I don't have you working on the defenses, I've got you working on cheering me up!" his voice was sarcastic, but somehow you could tell he was actually pretty touched. Oooh, that's nice!

The crowd around him caught it as well, and grinned just as slowly. Syaoran grinned back. Their grins turned devilish.

Syaoran's grin faded slightly, kinda worried. He shot to his feet, turning to run. Too late; he was buried under what must have been the largest doggy-pile in this history of doggy-piles.

I winced. Ouch, that musta hurt . . .

"Hey Sakura, what' wrong with my Syaoran?!" Meilin whined.

I junped. How exactly do you tell your best friend that you found out something deep about her fiance before she did? "H-how should I-I-I know . . .?" Right! You don't!

The doggy-pile caught my attention as it startyed to sway and shake. Somehow, Syaoran managed to wriggle his way out of the pile. He ambled calmly over to us, stopping in front of Tomoyo (who'd been wise enough to get out of the way before the doggy-pile occured).

"Tomoyo . . . thanks."

She blinked. "N-no problem . . at least it wasn't your sisters. They would have hugged you tightly, then whapped you on the head for making everyone worry." Her dangerously dark side peeked through her normally gentle, calm demeanor for a moment. "I could and will, if you make us worry like that again!"

Syaoran grinned at her, easily replying with "How can you threaten me after you give me a big hug? I mean, it _was_ a hug, after all. However . . . how will Eriol react?" Apparently, Tomoyo had caught the teasing spark in his eyes, and naturally began attacking with her hand-held camera. He laughed, skipping away from her whole-hearted attempts to throttle him into oblivion and catch it on tape at the same time.

"Oh yeah, and thanks Sakura!" he beamed at me, while also using me as a shield from Tomoyo's camera-of-death-and-devastation.

"Huh? Hoe, for what?" I asked, craning my neck around to look at him and failing miserably.

"For helping me." Strong arms suddenly wrapped around me from behind as Syaoran gave me a quick hug. Then, leaving me in slight shock, he took off to escape Tomoyo's wrath some more.

"Helping you with what?!" I called after him, shaking my head to clear it. Those arms . . . it had felt good to be in his embrace . . .

"Telling the ending . . . it helped me move on!" he shouted back. Apparently, however, Tomoyo had caught up with him. "OW! Tomo-chaaaaan, that actually hurt! Hey, you better not be videotaping this . . . !"

"It should hurt! Yes, as a matter of fact, I am taping this!"

I laughed, but it faltered when I saw Meilin's very . . . fierce and . . . more than _slightly_ intimidating glare. Then, unsurprisingly for some reason, Eriol walked up with the newly-hospitally-released Takashi. Takashi was leading a group of the younger kids, and when he saw Syaoran he grinned wickedly.

As Syaoran finally freed himself from Tomoyo's clutches, Takashi yelled "Hey kids! DOGPILE!!!"

Syaoran's eyes widened when the kids grinned just as wickedly as Takashi. He froze, and the kids hadn't moved yet.

"Well?" Eriol looked around at the kids. "What are you waiting for? Get him already!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!" The kids ran after Syaoran, bearing a scary resemblance to a tidal wave.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Syaoran yelled in mock-fear as he turned on his heel to run. Somehow, I could tell he wasn't at top speed . . . maybe my first hint was when the kids launched themselves into a doggy-pile with a laughing Syaoran on bottom.

"Hmm. I'm glad my cute little descendant is smiling again." Eriol grinned, shaking his head when a faint '_I heard that_!came from the background.

Syaoran ambled up, a kid on his back, another clinging to his leg, a third tugging on his arm and a fourth somehow standing on his shoulder and tugging at his hair. "Hi, oh-wonderful-leader-master-mine."

"Why, oh _why_ must you call me that?!" Eriol mourned.

"Becaus you _are_ an oh-wonderful-leader-master-mine, and you're _my_ oh-wonderful-master-mine" Syaoran retorted smartly.

" . . . it's your revenge for me calling you my cutle-little-descendant, isn't it?"

"Well . . . yeah, that too."

"Speaking of leadership, shouldn't you be supervising the building project?" Eriol rolled his eyes, and both Tomoyo and I giggled. Meilin had walked off earlier.

"What?" Syaoran blinked. "Waitaminnut . . ." His eyes suddenly widened in realization. "WHAT?!" he ran off, probably to resume his post as an overseer of sorts..

Eriol chuckled, taking Tomoyo's hand and starting to walk away. "At least he's making some progress in those lessons I have to force him to attend."

_Lessons?_ I thought as I headed back to my assigned area for working. _What lessons? _As I pounded nails into a board to hold it in place, I shrugged it off. _Not like it concerns me . . . _


	9. The Raid's Starting! Oh No!

**_Syaoran's POV:_**

_Oomf._

I rubbed my chest where I'd run inot someone. Ow . . . "Oh! Hi Ying Fa!"

"Huh? Oh, hey Syaoran." Sakura blinked owlishly up at me. "Wazz wrong?"

" . . . nothing?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "What's wrong with you? You're acting awful strange . . ."

"Really? Hoe, I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry about?"

"I dunno . . ."

Sakura recieved a dry look, courtesy of yours truly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Was she . . . staring at . . . my _hair_? "Huh . . ."

"Ying Fa, why are you staring at my hair of all things?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking that you need a haircut . . ."

"Which one?" I quipped back, knowing it would get on her nerves. It always did.

"Um . . . all of them?" Instead, Sakura gave me a strange look before walking off in a different direction again. I watched her go, surprised. Sakura would always pout and make some sort of witty retort whenever I set out to annoy her again. Not that I always do that . . . eh heh . . . okay, so I do annoy her a lot! Gimme a break!

Shaking my head, I walked off.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oooh, lookin' good Syaoran! Is my cute little descendant attempting to woo some lucky equally-cute little lady?" Eriol teased when I walked into his room late that night. I stil hated him for making me come to those stupid 'Leadership Lessons' . . . but he _is_ my friend. I do this sort of stuff for my friends . . . despite how much I utterly DESPISE whatever it is they make me do in the first place on the inside.

" . . . shut up." I ran a hand through my newly-cut hair. I still don't know _why_ exactly I went to the barbers after Sakura told me I needed to cut my hair . . . I mean it's not like I _care_ about what _she_ thinks of how I look . . .

"Well, as long as it isn't my delightful Daidouji Tomoyo, I bid you good luck."

I swear, Eriol does not EVER have the slightest clue as to when to stop teasing me . . .

Five minutes and an awful noogie later, Eriol huffed and did what he likes to call 'getting down to buisness'. I hate that phrase . . . "Okay, okay . . . past the painful noogies and my destroyed bedroom . . . say you have two people who disaggre on some matter and refuse to see eye to eye . . "

I groaned and fell backwards onto Eriol's bed.

"You start by --- WHAT THE HELL?!" Eriol's droning was interrupted by Eriol's yelling.

I heard the same crash he had, and felt the hideout tremble as well. The raid had begun . . . oh no! THE RAID HAD BEGUN!

Tearing out of Eriol's room, I bolted down the hallway. Banging on doors as I went, I pounded on every door within reach and yelled as loud as possible. "The raid's starting, people! We're under attack! The raid has started! C'MON PEOPLE! GET YOUR SWORDS AND GET GOIN'! _INTO THE MAIN HALL, NOW_!!!"

If I had stayed behind, I would have seen Eriol grin before strapping on his katana (don't worry, I'd already been wearing mine. I don't really take it off much, minus when I sleep). If I had stayed behind, I would have seen him pocket a tape as well.


	10. NOT A CHAPTER! Xiannodel's Challenge

_Hey, everyone._

_I've come up with a challenge or two to . . . up the reviews._

**CHALLENGE:** there's a reason why Wolven Moons is called Wolven Moons. To the reviewer who comes closest to guessing the reason (or actually getting it right, of course) within a set period of time, you will have my highest regards as to your brilliance. However, I know that is not a very appealing reward for some. Thus, there is an actual reward: _to the reviewer who guesses the reasoning behind the title Wolven Moons, I will write any fanfic you choose_. It can be a oneshot, or a full-blown story. The details of this reward will be made known to the winner in all entirety.

**HINT:** _Moons_ comes from an aspect of the story having to deal with nighttime.

_There is a reward, as you have hopefully just read. I really like to read your reviews, people, and it's pretty depressing to get my hopes up about reading new reviews and stealing time to get on only to find . . . no reviews. And I know I haven't been as great about updating as I should be, but still . . . I don't see this as that hard of a challenge. It's really pretty obvious, once you sit down and think about it._

_There's gonna be somewhere around 25 chapters to this story (rough estimate). Why do I tell you this? Because the final chapter will reveal the secret! When it's time for the second-to-last chapter, the challenge will end and the winner announced._

_You can guess as many times as you want. No limits!_

_Have fun!_

_-Xia_


	11. To Dance A Battle

**_Eriol's POV:_**

Every member of our gang, even the elders and children, stared up. Or, more precisely, stared up at the four of us perched on the tables: myself, a battle-hungry Futomaki, a worried Tomoyo, and of course a very _paranoid_-looking Syaoran. I felt troubled as to what was coming, but I knew I was well prepared. Clow Reed had always said I was five steps ahead of the game . . .

I looked around at my people, then at my fellow three table-toppers. Futomaki, my left-hand man. Syaoran, my best friend and right-hand, not to mention my successor. Finally, my Daidouji Tomoyo, who was many things at once. Healer, singer, friend . . . and most importantly, my girlfriend. Oh, how I would miss her. _Syaoran_, I begged in my mind,_ you better take care of my flower for me, or suffer the worst haunting in the history of all mankind. And you of all people should know what I am capable of._

My gaze found Sakura and Meilin standing in the crowd. Meilin only had eyes for Syaoran, putting on her appropriately-dubbed (by Syaoran, I might add) 'horrifically flirtacious' face. If I were Sakura, I'd have knocked her upside the head then and there. This was a _raid_ for crying out loud, woman! Not a chance to flirt! Plus, I was personally convinced that Syaoran and his 'Ying Fa' were a match made in heaven itself. The Big Man had it all planned out for them . . . whoa, listen to me. I'm getting all preachy! I may lecture Syaoran constantly, but _preachy_?!

Looking around at the rest of the gang again, I cleared my throat. "All right! We've been working on defenses, so that's what's holding them off for now. More or less, we have about fifteen minutes to prepare. We need to get organized, and fast!"

"Elders, children, and those unable to fight or unwished to fight, over to the left wall. Those who can fight, over to the right!" I continued, then paused to wait as they scrambled towards their places. "For all who fight, get your weapons ready! Tomoyo, go through and pick a team to help you with the medical . . . _disturbances._ syaoran, Futomaki, help them organize."

Syaoran nodded, stepping down from the table. He headed straight for Sakura and Meilin. Mostly Sakura, but Meilin was included as I watched. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it appeared Syaoran wanted the both of them over with those on the left. Label them under 'those unwished to fight', I presume.

It was amazingly amusing to watch the girls' reactions. Meilin immediately skipped off, beaming. It was actually a pretty scary sight . . . while Sakura seemed to want to _argue_ with my cute little descendant. Oh, this was rich. After fighting for a while (complete with angry hand gestures, including a very insulting one from Sakura I will not describe), Sakura huffed off towards the left. I knew it wouldn't last, though. As soon as Syaoran's back was turned, she rushed over to the right side as fast as she could. Sakura, I pray you survive once he's through yelling at you about this later . . .

Futomaki and Syaoran rejoined me once the hall was completely sorted. Tomoyo was already perched atop her table again, this time with a group of women standing in a bunch behind her. She sent me the most tender look ever seen on the face of the most beautiful woman, before going into battle-mode and facing the crowd again with her face set and expressionless. Syaoran and Futomaki took their places.

"Those on the left side, exit through the back door and sneak away. Syaoran will send up a green flare if we've won and it's safe to come back, red if we lost and it's not safe." I waited for those on the left to file out before turning back to the remainder. More than 7/8 of our members remained, a mixture of male and female. Each was armed with a sword, or bow, or some other weapon.

To them, I said "I will not lie to you. There is a chance you will die. There is a chance _I_ will die." Oh, if only they knew how mcuh of an understatement this was. Gasps broke out in horror, and some people clutched each other. It appears I was better liked than I thought . . .

"Like I said, there is a chance I will die. Thus, I must be prepared for my death." I pulled my tape out of my pocket, brandishing it with a knwing smile. Futomaki blinked in confusion at the tape; yeah, nothing gets past _that_ guy. Syaoran paled, and Tomoyo gave me a look that clearly said oh-no-Eriol-please-tell-me-you-didn't-you-did-didn't-you-you-idiot. I simply smirked at all and pulled a tape recorder out of my other pocket (what dcan I say? they're big pockets).

Inserting the tape, I pressed play.

_Syaoran, I've chosen you to be my successor_, my voice echoed in the silence of the hall. Syaoran recognized it, just like I kenw he would. He gaped at me, too; i knew that was coming, too.

_No way, Eriol_ his own voice said. _You told me you were going to die in the raid, and you remember what I promised?_

_Syaoran . . ._

_I won't let you die, not as long as I have a breath left in my body! Stop this nonsense already and just forget about these stupid lessons._

_Syoaran . . ._

_Eriol, you are NOT going to DIE! I've said it a million times, and I'll say it again: I WON'T LET YOU DIE._

_Syaoran! Shut up and listen to me already! Are you really going to leave these people without a leader, oh brave little wolf? Wou you want them to fall apart with my demise?_

_(stony silence)_

_Syaoran, answer the question._

_(stonier silence)_

_Answer the question._

_. . . well, no. But! But I'm the wrong person! I can't lead anything! Remember my goldfish? He didn't even last an hour! If the fish kicks the bucket in an hour, how long will it take for _your_ people to die?! Train Futomaki . . . wait, did I just say that? Scratch that! Train Tomoyo! She's fit for leadership, not me._

_Tomoyo is our healer, our doctor. Much as I love her, she will not be the leader. Syaoran, I chose _you_. You are my choice, and I will not change my mind. I can be just as stubborn as you, wolf-boy._

_Wolf-boy?! Eriol, are you under a death wish? Maybe it's drugs._

_Either you agree and take responsibility to help these people, or you refuse and doom them to Futomaki's reign._

_. . . Futomaki in charge. That's a scary thought._

_Choose, Syaoran._

_You play some dirty trickes with the mind, Eriol._

_So do you, on occasion._

_At least I _try_ not to . . . the opposite of you, I might add._

_Don't let Tomoyo hear that. Yes or no?_

_. . . fine. I hate you right now, you know that?_

_Strangely, I expected that._

_Yeah, yeah. I won't like it, Eriol._

_I never asked you to, Syaoran. I never asked you to._

I stopped the tape, letting the conversation sink in. After what I deemed a reasonable amount of sinking-in time, I said in a quiet voice, "Syaoran is my successor. No one can change that. I urge you to respect him. He may not seem it now, but I know for certain Syaoran will grow into a leader you will not dream of ursurping."

Everyone stared at Syaoran, whom I knew (without looking!) was gazing forlornly back with a depressed frown.

Cannonfire interrupted a tense moment, and all were reminded of why they were there.

"Seperate into four groups." I said softly, but was still heard over the battle. "Align yourselves with the compass. Takashi, you will lead the eastern group. Futomaki, the northern. Syaoran, the west. I lead the south. Tomoyo, you and your group remain here with as many healing supplies as possible. If any are wounded, bring them straight here. i want as few deaths as possible." Without another word, I stepped down and to the front of my group. Sakura would be safe in Takashi's group, I knew. Seconds later, I led my group out and into the battle.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I yanked my sword out of a raider's chest, grimacing at the reek of blood and gore. Death hung in the air around us, and the fighting throbbed around us. We were so tightly packed that once you felled a man, you had to immediately move on to the next or die. Already I'd used up all of my majic, and could only hope that Sakura and Syaoran still had reserves left.

Another man fell, and then another. Hacking, slicing, it didn't matter how I striked. Each man fell dead to my blade, and it sickened me.

I have never been one for the blood, pain, and ugliness of the battlefield. Syaoran had never taken to it either, but after the deaths of his sisters . . . let's just say that Futomaki was lucky Syaoran had enough control over his rage that he didn't want to slice up his spinal cord.

I hate to see people die, but looking around me I had to admit that a battle was amazingly like a dance. Those you fought against were your 'partners', and once you killed them their place was taken by a new 'partner' or 'partners'. It was an intricate waltz, yet still rather like a waltz performed by a Neanderthal. The dancers moved stiffly or fluidly, depending upon their skill or type. Some killed without a second thought, while others only left severe wounds before moving on to their next dancing partner. The pairs wove around each other, both with a pattern and without. So conflicting, but so balanced at the same time. At times it was beautiful, while at others it was terrifying.

Once I realized that battles were rough dances in disguise, I came to terms with myself. I was a reincarnatin of Clow Reed at the beginning of my life, nothing more. But as I grew, and matured, and thought for myself, I _became_ myself. I became a person of my own. Not Clow Reed, not the rich son of the Hiiragizawas, not the sneaky schoolboy of my youth. I was me, no one else. The whole time I spent trying to become a perfect Clow-Clone, I should have spent trying new things, or getting to know myself.

Of all the places to realize this, it had to be upon a battlefield. A battlefield, one of the places I'd always hated the most. Battlefields, where people died so others could live. This was what I was doing myself; dying so Syaoran could live. My purpose had reached out to me, found me, and claimed me.

Releasing what I thought was a mighty battle cry, I slashed my way through the God-forsaken raiders. For a moment, I thought I saw Clow Reed himself fighting among us as well, but I pushed it to the back of my mind. To find the rival gang's leader . . . that was my goal for the moment.

I found him standing just inside the ring of defenses we'd built, not even fighting. The defenses we'd worked so hard on were ruined, ripped to shreds, mangled beyond belief. When Satoshi saw me, he smirked.

The rest of the battle died away in my mind, and I raised my blood-streaked sword. "Go to hell for attacking my gang, you dirty-"

"Ah ah, no cusing in front of the fanfiction readers!" Satoshi scolded me, even wagging a finger in that creepy motherly-sort-of way when you get in trouble again. "You should know better than that, Eriol!"

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Go to hell for attacking my gang, Satoshi." I repeated in monotone, as if bored.

"Satoshi _what_?" he tapped a foot imatiently.

"Fine! Go to hell for attacking my gang, Satoshi-_sama_" I layered on the sarcasm, if you couldn't tell from the italics.

"Eh, close enough. Take it from the top." Satoshi waved me off. I scowled, muttering something unter my breath about roasting him in a vat of purloined pigs' sweat followed by something having to do with a baguette and some sort of dull weapon as I stormed off. Five feet away, I turned around and stormed back.

I raised my blood-streaked sword (_again_). "Go to hell for attacking my gang, Satoshi!"

He smirked wider. "After you, Hiiragizawa. After you."

"No, after you!" A brown-ish blur fell from what must have been the sky (it was actually a tree). Satoshi just barely managed to block Syaoran's attack, eyes widening upon the sheer strength of my best friend.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Syaoran. Thanks." I grinned.

A eccentric fight, a couple scuffles, a few well-placed punches and a kick from Syaoran that landed horrifyingly close to Satoshi's personal area, the rival leader was sprawled across the ground with a victorious little wolf sitting quite calmly upon his back.

"No problem, Eriol." Syaoran replied cooly. "Not a problem at all. Right, Satoshi-sama?"

"Argh, little brat . . . right, Syaoran-sama."

"Correction. It is supposed to be 'argh, little wolf', not 'argh, little brat'." Syaoran stated in a regal tone. "I take offense of that 'brat' comment."

"Yeah, yeah." Satoshi rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you be protecting your little girlfriend? Sakura, wasn't it? She's surrounded, I'll have you know."

What a wonderful way to make it almost painfully obvious how Syaoran felt about Sakura. He was off Satoshi in a flash, sprinting off in the vague direction of our eastern group.

"Nice save." I told Satoshi as he brushed himself off. "Syaoran-sama's appearance was a nice touch, don't you think?"

He growled at me, standing and dusting off his crumpled clothing. Not that it wasn't crumpled _before_ Syaoran got his hands on Satoshi . . . why was the rival leader smirking at me again? This was not boding well.

Finally, I realized my true purpose. To kill Satoshi, however much I would have liked it (he'd raided us before; it was his same gang that killed Syaoran's sisters), that wasn't why I was facing Satoshi right now with his little smirk. I had to die to help Syaoran achieve his own destiny, and in turn help Syaoran help others achieve _their _destinies. I had to die. That was the way it had to be.

Thanks Syaoran, for trying, but this is what I have to do.

Fate is a brutal mistress, isn't she?

I stood there alone as Satoshi snapped his fingers. Automatically, I was surrounded in a ring of his men. The pattern alternated here; an archer, a swordsmen, a hand-to-hand fighter, then another archer and a swordsmen, a second hand-to-hand fighter, and so forth. A completely new dance, and one I had not even the slightest clue as to how it went.

"Well now, I may have been beaten by your little protector, but you . . . you die now." Satoshi grinned and snapped his fingers again.

**A/N:**_ The next chapter will be hard for me to write in genreal (because of the content and all), so you probably shouldn't expect an uber-fast update. This is the second-to-last time we'll see Eriol . . . did you catch the EriolTomoyo relationship hints:)_

_As for my challenge: you can guess as much as you want, so keep guessing! You could personally guess fifty times, just guess! The answer is a lot simpler than you think, and there's plenty of hints here in this very chapter! For example, a nudge towards the meaning of Wolven is 'hidden' somewhere in the conversation between Eriol and Syaoran. Just a little clue to help you along . . ._

_'Til next time . . ._


	12. A Moment's Reflection

**A/N:**_ First of all, I want to thank _rosedreamer101_ for editing this. I'll admit it . . . the original version was pretty bad; so send _rosedreamer101_ a really big thank-you for making it soo much better. Say goodbye to Eriol, everyone . . . this is the last chapter he gives us, and his absolute last appearance is in the next chapter . . . well, go ahead and read._

_**Eriol's POV . . .**_

I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain to come; waited for my fate to rear its ugly head, waited to join my Creator in a better place, waited for everything to end, and I waited to lose my beautiful Tomoyo.

Beauty is not the only value of my precious, precious Tomoyo. She is smart, albeit deviously so, and cunning. And she has an amazing gift for clothing design, and for video recording, and for everything in between. But . . . it wasn't her skills that made me fall so irrevocably in love with her . . . it was her personality. She was so caring, and so gentle. Oh, I didn't believe in 'love at first sight'. Yet, after Tomoyo, I did believe. She opened my eyes to a changing world, but there was always one thing that stayed constant: she would always be there for me. Ah, how I love her so . . . I shall miss her dearly.

But, when she dies (of what I hope will be old age and nothing else), I'll be waiting for her.

I waited . . . and waited . . . yet, nothing came. Confused, my eyes shot open.

"I never knew you were one to cower into submission, Eriol . . ." Syaoran stood tall and straight, his back facing me. I had no idea of his expression, but it must have been his steady frown. "I always thought you were better than that."

"If you think I will go down in fear, you are wrong." I told him sternly. How could he accuse me of being a coward? I was doing this for him!

". . . That's the Eriol I know." Syaoran turned his face a little towards me, a slight smile playing across his features. A small dribble of blood trailed from the corner of his mouth, and I saw nothing of his bodily injuries. He had not faced me completely.

"Eh, the brat returns to protect his _weak_ little friend." Satoshi snarled, words dripping with anger. Syaoran had foiled his plan to kill me (despite my better wishes), and Satoshi hated him for tainting his victory. "What a wonderful last moment for the little _leader_."

He snapped his fingers again. This time, the swordsmen rushed forwards instead of the archers firing their arrows. Syaoran twisted around, automatically attempting to fight them off. As he turned, I saw why I wasn't hurt, not fatally.

Arrows stuck out of Syaoran, from his arms and legs, from his torso and shoulders. One in particular was lodged deeply into his stomach, obviously causing him pain. Yet he didn't let it stop him, despite the slow trickle of blood. When he had said he wouldn't let me die, he had meant it.

I watched in horror as sword after sword sliced into him, but he refused to stand down. He continued to fight to protect me, his own sword dealing much more fatal blows to those who attacked him. One of the swordsmen sliced deeply into his arm, and he cried out in pain. Snarling, he attacked the man with renewed vigor.

Satoshi snarled as well, snapping his fingers again. The swordsmen pulled back, tiredly. Syaoran panted from exertion himself; he'd done more than enough of his own fighting, and protecting me was completely exhausting him.

"You will stop at nothing to protect this weakling, won't you?" He asked Syaoran, pure hatred filling his voice.

"You'll have to go through me first to get to Eriol, and I can stand as long as you." Syaoran shot back, not missing a beat. His performance was ruined when he winced and pressed a hand against his arm. Blood was already flowing freely.

"Have it your way." Satoshi grinned, and the hand-to-hand fighters stormed forwards. They punched and kicked Syaoran unceasingly, pushing in arrows and bruising already-wounded skin. Skin that wasn't already cut or stabbed was now bruised, or scratched. Even so, Syaoran refused to stand down, despite the fact that he was barely standing.

The hand-to-hand fighters pulled back as the archers released another volley of arrows. Syaoran wasn't fast enough to stop them all, so he resorted to covering me with his body. Arrow after arrow pierced into his back, but he only gritted his teeth and whimpered under his breath.

Following the pattern, the swordsmen were next. Syaoran knew that if he continued to hunch over my form, he'd certainly die. He staggered to his feet, the tip of his blood-streaked sword trailing lightly in the dust. Somehow, he still managed to hold off the swordsmen.

But he forgot one person, key to this whole battle-within-a-battle . . .

Syaoran forgot Satoshi.

Just as I realized this, so did my little wolven friend. He whipped around, struggling to race over to me, but was too late. A severe, mind-numbing pain pierced through my heart, and my eyes widened in surprise.

I stared down at the blade protruding from my chest. It was covered in blood . . . my blood. Gasping as the full extent of the pain itself hit me. I grasped the sword and tried to push it out.

Satoshi solved the problem for me. He yanked his sword straight out of my body with the cruelest, evilest, most _satisfied_ smirk on his face.

"Looks like I didn't have to go through you just to kill four-eyes after all, wolf-boy."


	13. Losing The Reality

**A/N:**_ A few notes . . . 1: i'm getting a kitten, so Wolven Moons will kinda be on a temporary hiatus. It'll be back up in about a month, though, so no worries please. 2: I'm gonna change my username, so next update will be under Tzigane-Akiko instead of Xiannodel. Sorry it's so short, but I promise you there will be a very long update as soon as I can get on. I'm sorry for making you wait so long for such a short chapter . . ._

**_Syaoran's POV:_**

"Looks like I didn't have to go through you just to kill four-eyes after all, wolf-boy." Satoshi told me witha satisfied grin. My blood absolutely boiled.

"You . . . . you . . ." I stammered, red haze beginning to swim before my eyes. "You . . . _what have you done_?!"

"Simple. I . . . . eliminated the . . . competition, you could say? Now that your precious _Eriol_ is out of the way, there's nothing to stop me from taking over every single gang in this whole goddamned city. Resistors will be . . ." Satoshi paused for effect, his bloody sword glittering in the pale light of dawn. " . . . _taken care of_."

"You-" I started, about to cuss him out, but then Eriol moved in my lap. The red spots in my vision dissapated as my gaze shot around to my fallen friend.

"Syao . . . ran . . ." My lifelong friend gasped, a little bit of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Syaoran . . . Syao . . . Syao . . ."

"Eriol, shush, I'm here." I bent closer, trying to staunch the heavy flow of his blood. "Don't worry, we'll get you to Tomoyo. Just hold on, just hold on a little longer . . ."

"Tomoyo . . . oh, my . . . precious . . . Tomoyo . . ." he grinned, despite his pain. "Tell her I . . . love her . . . Syaoran . . . tell her."

"Hey. You'll be able to tell her yourself, just hold on! You know that cheesy line about the light at the end of the tunnel?! Well, I'm usin' it! Ignore the light, Eriol! Tomoyo and I are at the other end! All of us are waiting for you to come back."

"Ah . . . Syaoran . . . you'll take care of her . . . right?" Eriol panted, closing his eyes. There was so much blood . . . too much . . . the stench of it filled my nostrils and threatened to drive me insane.

"Don't talk like that! You'll see your Tomoyo, just hold on!"

"Oh, Syao . . . ran . . . I'm so very . . . very proud . . . to call you . . . my . . . truest . . . friend . . ." Eriol trailed off, and his hand went limp in mine.

I sat there in silence, waiting for him to open his eyes again. When he didn't, I started to feel my grip on reality slip away.

"Dammit, Eriol . . ." My tears fell onto his body, and I knew he was gone. "Dammit . . . you promised you wouldn't die. You promised!!! Don't die . . . don't die . . . don't . . ."

The body . . . went cold.

My reality . . .

. . . disappeared.


	14. HELP!

**A/N:**

_Hiya, everyone. Sorry for the lack of updates, hehe . . . but that's what I'm about to explain._

_There's a reason why I haven't put the next chapter of Wolven Moons up - I don't really know which POV to put it in. A different POV will give you different information than another. Therefore, since I don' know which POV to write in, I don't know how to write the chapter. Basically, I'm flat-out _stuck

_Ironically, I finally figured out the answer (while attempting to go to sleep, to be honest). I know _I'm_ the one writing the story, but who are the ones reading it? You all. So, I figure I'll just ask _you_ which POV it should be in. Just look at the options below, and vote in your review. Simple, I hope. But now for your options (it wouldn't help if I didn't tell you your options, would it; it'd just stick us back to square one)_

_Your options are as follows:_

**Satoshi:**_ that's the guy attacking the gang, and the one who killed Eriol_

**Syaoran:**_ if I did this one, we'd have to delve into his psyche, which should be interesting_

**Sakura**

**Tomoyo**

**Futomaki:**_ the second-hand guy, remember?_

_So those are your five options. I'm begging you - vote, and _HELP!!!

- TziAki


End file.
